M-Audio Ozone

[sarCHASM]

I just got my new computer, an Apple iBook, and I'm going to start using garageband as I need to write a song for my music theory final.

So I was at GuitarCenter today and the salesguy convinced me that the best way to go was with a MIDI controller, and that to play piano and maybe even hook up my electric violin, I could use this M-Audio Ozone thing. It looks like what I need, a piano that I can plug into my computer and record into GarageBand. So I unpack it and I can't get it to work with my computer. I installed drivers, I set sound preferences, I tried to monkey with garageband and i can't get shit.

1. Is this what I'm looking for?

2. Is there a better product for me to buy?

3. Why doesn't it work?

thanks guys

 

[ssscientist]

Here are links to two good articles on midi basics - part one and part two. They may be a little too basic for you, but we can all use a refresher course now and then...

You need some kind of soft synth with a sampled piano sound if you're expecting a piano sound. I know the very first versions of Garage Band were audio only, but it may have evolved to include access to soft synths.

In that case, go here and do a search for piano or sampled piano or just sampler. It's the one-stop shop for all things plugin.

That Ozone is an audio interface too. If you plug a mic in you can record your electric violin thru whatever amp you usually play thru into Garage Band.

 

[trenttati]

I'm an avid garageband user who has a Radium49 M-Audio USB based keyboard. As long as your drivers are installed, and your computer can find the keyboard/interface (the Ozone), garageband should have no problem with it. Check to see if the ibook can see the ozone by going into system preferences/audio. If it's not under both the input and output tabs, try turning the keyboard on, and given that fails, unplug and replug the usb cable. The drivers (software you installed) may have their own section in system preferences, check there too, it should tell you if the Ozone is connected or not.

Given that it is interfaced with the ibook, open garageband and go to garageband/preferences/audio/midi. You should be able to select the Ozone from the pull down menus for input and output. Now, select a track (the default is piano) and go it's info (track/show track info). Select software instrument from the top tabs and then choose the group and then the instrument you want. You should now be able to hear the software sound (midi controlled samples).

To use yor electric violin in garageband, go through all the ozone interface steps to make sure garageband uses it as the audio input. Plug your violin into the preamp on the ozone, create a new track in garageband, this time selecting "Real Instrument." It is best to use a "basic track" instead of any of the effected presets for now.

There are some great garageband communities out there. I don't use them, so I can't link you to one. Go googling if you need more specific help.

Make sure you have AT LEAST 512 megs of ram in your ibook, 256 simply doesn't work well. You will be hurting in garageband without it. A gig makes things work smoothly.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[trenttati]

Oh yeah, you asked some specific questions:

1) Yes, the Ozone will do what you want it to, and at a nice price. The preamp may be a little, uh, lame, but it should do the job.

2) The are many better products, most of them more difficult to use, far more expensive, and far better sounding (for real instruments). Basically, your other options are getting a seperate interface (with or without built-in preamps) and a keyboard that has usb or one that doesn't and also getting a midi-usb converter. The Ozone is nice because, with a laptop, you can go anywhere and work on your music.

3) See post above.